Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
Another day, another example of the Catholic Church making a mockery of its civic responsibilities: Court documents obtained by CBC News allege that the Catholic Church is withholding millions from former students of Indian residential schools. The church was part of the Indian residential school settlement reached in 2006. While the government paid the lion’s share of the billion-dollar settlement, the churches were also required to make reparations. The Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches have met their obligations, but according to the federal government, the Catholic Church is shirking its responsibility. Read more
Michael Powell, a New York Times columnist, recently visited Pittstown, New Jersey, to get a first-hand look at the weekend/vacation home of John J. Myers, the long-failing head of the Newark Archdiocese. The 4,500-square-foot home has a handsome amoeba-shaped swimming pool out back. And as he’s 72, and retirement beckons in two years, he has renovations in mind. A small army of workers are framing a 3,000-square-foot addition. This new wing will have an indoor exercise pool, three fireplaces and an elevator. The Star-Ledger of Newark has noted that the half-million-dollar tab for this wing does not include architects’ fees or furnishings. There’s no need to fear for the archbishop’s bank account. The Newark Archdiocese is picking up the bill. Read more
As all devout Christians know, the Lord will provide. To some, that includes free restaurants meals (for when the loaves and fishes run out, I guess). Take a gander at this recent dustup at the A&G restaurant in Winter Haven, Florida. It involves a woman named Ruthena Lewis, 44, and her 78-year-old mother Willie, who went there for breakfast last month. According to the police reports, Crystal Henson, a restaurant staff member, ran a credit card that Ruthena Lewis gave her and it was declined. Restaurant staff told police Ruthena Lewis held the cancel button down as she ran the card, according to the reports. The report said police were told that “(Ruthena Lewis) stated to (Henson) that if she gave them the meal for free she would go to heaven. If she ran the credit card again, she would go to hell.” Read more
Muslims may not go on hazardous deep-space flights. That’s official, inasmuch as a fatwa issued by a committee in the United Arab Emirates can make it so. The committee issued its religious ruling after weighing the pros and cons of a manned flight to Mars. “There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death.” Whoever opts for this “hazardous trip”, the committee said, is likely to perish for no “righteous reason,” and thus will be liable to a “punishment [in the hereafter] similar to that of suicide.” Read more
